Bisbee Mining &
Historical Museum
Bisbee became an urban
outpost on the frontier.
The population grew to
20,000 in the early 1900s.
Trains brought in people and materials and left with copper.
The railroads continued
Bisbee's development.
Immigrants headed west in
search of jobs, a fresh start.
Copper mining was done underground
for many years.
Copper mining was more stable than
silver or gold, which played out quickly.
Miners shovel ore into
wheelbarrows.
Miners sit & eat their
lunches.
These beautiful crystallized minerals
were found in Bisbee's first,
undergroound copper mine.
The Lavender Open Pit mine was operational by 1954. This type of mining exploits lower grade copper.. High grade turquoise, known as Bisbee Blue, was found while mining for copper in the 1950s.
This picture, from the late 1960s
shows the previously cut
mine shafts from earlier mining.
This is the mold from a tire fitted
to a modern truck used in
the Lavender Pit.
Copper mining is about profit.
Test cores are drilled before
putting time & money into
mining new areas.
Digging for copper ore
produces large amounts
of unusable materials
that are piled up in
unused areas.
The copper mine in Bisbee closed in 1975. Like many former mining areas, Bisbee has recreated itself and thrives today as a historical and cultural center.
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